Sahra Wagenknecht, co-founder of BSW, criticized the federal government regarding the draft budget for the coming year. Speaking to the “Welt” she stated that the 2027 budget includes the largest rearmament effort since 1945 and involves reckless debt accumulation. She described the plan to incur 200 billion euros in new debt-almost entirely for new weaponry and the “militarization of Germany”-as a “self-destruct button” for the nation’s future.
The federal cabinet, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), plans to approve the budget draft this Wednesday, which subsequently must be passed by the Bundestag. According to Wagenknecht, Merz’s own treasury expenses increased by 50 billion euros annually, calling this a pure “waste of taxpayers’ money”. She also highlighted Merz’s previous statements, where he had emphasized before the election that Germany’s responsibilities could be met without additional taxes or new debt.
Wagenknecht claimed that “Merz will go down in history as a lie chancellor who continued to lead the country into decline”. She added that, “it was barely imaginable, but Merz and Klingbeil are even less capable and more unplanned than their predecessors”.